29 



I am giving the carpenter Wang lessons in how to skin so he can be more 



useful next summer* 



Dec. 22. It snowed last night enough to cover the surrounding mountains 

 white, but not the lower grounds. The neighbors sent for some snow and made ice 

 cream. This afternoon all the foreigners in town had an ice cream party. x t is 

 unusually cold for this part of the country. 



Tonight we set a number of rat traps. I want to train Wang and Lai to 

 skin mammals. They will both be necessary in the trip next summer. 



Dec, 25. We got no rats. 



Dec. 24. Caught one rat. Lai is watching the river for fish. He skinned 

 this rat all by himself and did remarkably well. It was a common rat, and was 

 merely for practice. We did not put any arsenic on it, and threw it away. 

 Bought one duck. 



Dec. 25. Lai did another good job skinning a rat. 



Dec. 26. I went to the Suifu hills hunting. I killed three birds. 

 It is so cold that some birds generally on higher hills are here now. I sent Lai 

 to trap a little. Mammal no. 325. a mouse. 



Dec. 27. Went to N ga n Bien. 



Dec. 28. Returned to Suifu. Labelled boxes 480, 481, insects, Box 482, 



483, fish. 



Dec. 29. A very cold, rainy day. Packed box 484, rabbit skins. Boxes 

 485-486, fish. Wrapped several boxes for shipping. Took eight anthropometrical 

 measurements • 



Dec. 50-31. Lai has learned to skin rats quite well. 



I sent him to the hills to begin to trap mammals. Spent much time moving. 

 A letter from the trappers on It. Qmei says that deep sno?f has interfered 

 some with -this collecting. 



